2017 - Page 2 of 2 - Pickens County First Steps

Recently my family served in our church’s nursery. A weary mom dropped her two young children off in their appropriate classrooms on the nursery hall and then made her way to the worship service, with a baby on her hip.

I remember those days well.

If ever there’s a population who needs the rest, perspective, and renewal that their faith community provides, surely it’s the parents of young children.

Yet many churches are struggling to keep their nurseries staffed and provide the necessary childcare for summer programs like VBS. Parents with young children, the ones who most […]

Moms and Dads don’t begin their journeys as parents planning to abuse or neglect their children.

Any one of us may think we’re above taking out our stress on children until one day, we find ourselves strangled by external pressures and talking to our own children through clenched teeth and with a tone that’s harsher than we’d want anyone to hear.

Usually that’s where it ends but what about when it doesn’t? What about parents whose stress keeps unraveling until they strike out at their children in abusive ways?

A Baby Story

My first child came into the world believing that sleep was optional. She grew into a toddler who also believed that sleep was optional and is now a teenager who is the last one to fall asleep at sleepovers.

All of those baby books written by baby experts talked about how much sleep newborns need and how I should expect my precious new baby to sleep more than she was awake.

Sadly, the baby experts were wrong when it came to my particular child.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t abuse children so what can I possibly do to prevent child abuse?”

More than you think.

As modern-Americans, it’s easy to disengage because we’re already burdened with doing so much: balancing work and home, commitment to our schools and faith-based communities, extended family involvement, keeping up with overflowing calendars and kids’ activities, and keeping the pantry stocked and meals on the table {or passed to the backseat of your minivan — don’t pretend you’ve never done this.}

In 1995, a famous study* found that lower-income children are exposed to 30 million fewer words than their higher-income peers. Research since then consistently confirms this “word gap” that exists among young children.

30 million words.

Think about the implications. Children who don’t have as many words in their “word bank” are less ready for school, less prepared for academic success, and less able to follow instructions.

“Quality early experiences” isn’t simply a idealistic notion touted by educators and advocates. Early experiences matter because they prepare developing brains and bodies for life.

Literacy is just a fancy word for reading and writing. So when we talk about promoting early literacy for young children, we’re simply talking about the very first building blocks. Did you know that simple activities like talking and singing to your children directly affect brain development and prepare young minds for reading?

A great tool for building early literacy is the Day by Day SC Project. Many people don’t know about this fantastic, free resource available to everyone.

When you go to daybydaysc.org, you will automatically see simple, themed, preschool-age activities for that day: a […]